Set For Life

Over the holidays I attended a yoga/qigong retreat aimed at relaxing the body and restoring energy. One of the instructors repeatedly said, “If you can relax in any position, you will be set for life.” Hearing this maybe a dozen times over a few days, I thought about those words. Can I relax, really relax, in this child pose? Can I relax in a walking meditation? Then the concept expanded. Can I relax when I am emotional? Can I relax amid challenges? Can I really relax when I am doing nothing at all?

I began to play with this, noticing when I relax and that sense of wonder and oneness flows and noticing other times, even when resting, that I hold tension. I recall Tara Brach’s story in her book Radical Acceptance. As a student of Buddhism she tried hard to get it “right” and her teachers repeatedly told her to simply relax.

During my retreat, I had a few glimpses of what happens when we really relax, a sort of delicious falling into nothingness and allness all at once that disappears the moment I realize it. “Learn to relax,” Tara’s teachers said. Such simple words. Such a challenge to do. “If you can relax in any position, you will be set for life.”